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Today continued the trend of sunny days with temperatures around 60 degrees F. The breeze was a bit chilly but refreshing. We had a HUGE turnout of volunteers today and I bet we saw 40 different volunteers throughout the day. The Grumpy and Grumpette population was impressive but we also had other volunteers helping, Read More

Today was another nice one although we did have some clouds later in the day. The 30% chance of precipitation didn’t get us too excited although we can sure use the rain. We ran irrigation all day to start making up for such a deficit in moisture since December! There was lots of color, Read More

Today was another beautiful one as seen in the photos both above and below. I love when the pond (3 acre) is still as reflections are really maximized. The daytime temperatures are creeping up there as are the evening temperatures. We moved many of our tropicals and tender plants in to the greenhouses, Read More

It was a lovely day at the gardens with ample sunshine and temperatures near 63 degrees F. There was plenty of color out in the gardens and it wasn’t hard to capture beauty like that of this grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) seen directly above. We had a great weekend with a successful Compost/Pansy Sale, Read More

Our “tempting triad” is in reference to our combined Pansy Sale, Compost Sale and the Golden Kiwanis Tree Sale, all of which will be occurring at the Horticulture Center tomorrow (Saturday, April 25th) from 8 am until 4 pm. Above is one of the many types of pansies that will be offered for sale, Read More

Today was beautiful with sunshine, blue skies and a high in the mid 50 degrees F. The wind has died down from the previous two days which were quite breezy. It was brisk and refreshing outside and our grounds staff and volunteers took full advantage of this gardening opportunity. Next week looks warmer thankfully., Read More

Blog brevity this evening as I type late in the evening after a busy day that concluded with a fun talk up at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI) on the topic of “The Scented Garden.” I got up there an hour early to tour the gardens and take photos. I wasn’t disappointed and caught, Read More

The wind was again howling today with temperatures barely reaching 50 degrees F. It was a lot colder on the west side of the gardens near the pond! While this isn’t unusual for April, we’re all hoping for a prompt return to warmer spring temperatures soon. There was still plenty of color in the, Read More

MONDAY BLOG! When I woke up this morning, I realized that I never finished and posted my blog from yesterday (4/20). Sorry for the catch up! The weather is quite a transformation from the 70 degrees F and sunshine we had daily last week and throughout the weekend as we’re now seeing temperatures, Read More

We had the volunteer crew from Oakhill Christian School helping out at the gardens today. There were 19 students and their instructor Kath. This group has come every spring and fall for the past 10 years or so and they did a superb job this morning of mulching the entire Potter Daylily Collection and, Read More

I am the Director of Horticulture at Rotary Gardens (Janesville, WI). Along with a talented grounds staff and dedicated volunteers, I enjoy being involved with this wonderful botanical resource. My educational background is in landscape architecture and urban forestry but it didn't take long to become a plant enthusiast and find a lifelong career.